Busy Christchurch Road Blocked due to Crane Crash
This week, let us go to New Zealand where one of the country’s busiest streets were closed after a crane mishap. Last week, one of Christchurch busiest thoroughfares was closed when a crane crashed on its side at a construction site.
Victoria Street has been closed on both sides at Bealey Avenue to Salisbury Street as confirmed by Christchurch Transport Operations Centre. This made the general public use other roads to reach their destination with traffic starting to build up in the streets nearby.
A spokesperson reported that a huge crane was lying by a building site on its side though no one got hurt in the crash. WorkSafe New Zealand investigators have visited the site in order to investigate the crash but the work on the building site has been halted for now. Soon to be an office space, this is a Ganellen construction site.
A crane crash isn’t new. Crane accidents and mishaps have taken place in New Zealand in the last few weeks with some of them causing serious injury to people affected by it. Recently, a crane rolled at the Centreport and injured a person. The accident occurred when the straddle carrier tipped at the site. There have been other instances of accidents in the past year which took 3 lives.
Lyttelton Port also reported a similar incident where the transfer of logs using cranes was halted. Questions regarding the quality of vehicles were raised with officials putting the standard of trucks, trailers and cranes in question. Representatives of companies like Forest Management, C3 and Laurie Forestry were contacted and met by WorkSafe investigators to get details on the matter.
One needs to understand that serious or even fatal accidents such as crane crashing or toppling over can be avoided by using the right crane warning systems. Such systems help to warn operators against mechanical failure and potential overload situations thereby aiding substantially in safe operations.
One can also make use of PAT Hirschmann Parts when moving heavy loads with cranes as they help issues like tipping or two-block from occurring. It is essential that a crane operator have a thorough knowledge of crane operation and handling along with the safety procedures involved. Nevertheless the importance of using appropriate crane warning systems cannot be underestimated. PAT Hirschmann Parts such as Cable Reels, Hirschman Maestro LMIs, and Anti 2 Block Systems can help make work easier and safer.
References:
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/christchurch-road-closed-by-toppled-crane-2014101310
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/traffic/10601631/Live-traffic-Fallen-crane-shuts-road
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/accident-at-wellingtons-port-2014092716
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/10522331/Safety-issues-put-brakes-on-logging-firms
